28 Oct, 2009
God is Big, I am Not
Skull of huge sea monster that could have eaten T-Rex found in Dorset
Jenny Booth
Dinosaur experts in Dorset are examining the fossilised skull of a sea monster so large they say it could have eaten a Tyrannosaurus rex for breakfast.
The fossil head is 2.4m (8ft) long, suggesting that the beast measured up to 16m (54ft) from the tip of its massive, crocodile-like snout to the end of its muscular tail, making it one of the largest specimens ever found.
The skull belongs to a pliosaur, one of a group of giant aquatic reptiles which roamed the warm seas over what is now southern Britain 150 million years ago.
Story and picture provided by: timesonline.co.uk
Job 41:1-11 (The Message)
"Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel?
Can you lasso him with a rope,
or snag him with an anchor?
Will he beg you over and over for mercy,
or flatter you with flowery speech?
Will he apply for a job with you
to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?
Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
Will you put him on display in the market
and have shoppers haggle over the price?
Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,
or drive harpoons into his huge head?
If you so much as lay a hand on him,
you won't live to tell the story.
What hope would you have with such a creature?
Why, one look at him would do you in!
If you can't hold your own against his glowering visage,
how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?
Who could confront me and get by with it?
I'm in charge of all this—I run this universe!
Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
What does God's Story scripture teach us about the bigness of God?
I love to think about how big God is, the expansiveness of the Creator. Anything that takes me to that thought is good for me, and that's what caught my attention in today's news story and also the two scriptures. In the news story, you have the bones of this giant sea best, and then in the Job passage you have God speaking about a giant sea beast. Talk about bringing things to life.
The conversations between God and Job were heated up to this point. Job was really upset; he felt like he was getting the raw end of a deal. As Job pleaded with God and argued with his friends, God enters the conversation. God says to Job, "I would like you to consider a few things." God then points to the sea giant leviathan, and says, "What can you do about this creature?" Then God turns the question on Job and says, "You can do nothing about this giant animal. What do you think you are going to do about me? I made the leviathan." God tells Job, "I'm in charge. I know what is going on. I'm big enough."
That leaves us with a huge God, which makes a passage like Jeremiah 29:11 even more powerful. "I have something in store for you," God says to Jeremiah. Our gigantic God, even in His bigness, thinks about us. He has a plan for us. A plan that is sculpted out of love. What a humbling thought; He's that big and thinks of someone as small as me.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
Sometimes we get caught erring in a couple of different ways. We try to take control and make things happen ourselves, or we worry and get anxious about things. We want to be in control of things or we want to understand what is happening around us at all times. As we suffer through those moments, God points at His own bigness and asks. "Do you trust that I am big enough for the things in your life? Do you believe that what I said to Jeremiah I really meant?" God is huge and wants us to remember that in that bigness He is still thinking about and loving us.
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture, and our story to others? Lately, I have had a lot of people talking to me about the circumstances in their lives. It is big scary stuff! For one it is a sick father, another it is financial trouble; for others it is just feelings of rejection from the world around them. Maybe you know people in those circumstances or in different troubles that seem monumental.
Here is a story to share with them to bring life to the words in Job. You can show them the story of the giant sea monster, then show them the Job scripture. Ask them if they have ever thought about how big God is.
Then you get to share the best part: that God, in His bigness, thinks of them. Jeremiah 29:11 says: "I [God] know the plans I have for you..." God is thinking of them in their tough circumstances, and He loves them and has something in store for them. You can encourage them to find peace and rest in God's love for them.
- May 2012 [14]
- April 2012 [19]
- March 2012 [21]
- February 2012 [19]
- January 2012 [18]
- December 2011 [20]
- November 2011 [15]
- October 2011 [15]
- September 2011 [14]
- August 2011 [22]
- July 2011 [19]
- June 2011 [21]
- May 2011 [20]
- April 2011 [20]
- March 2011 [21]
- February 2011 [20]
- January 2011 [21]
- December 2010 [21]
- November 2010 [21]
- October 2010 [21]
- September 2010 [22]
- August 2010 [21]
- July 2010 [22]
- June 2010 [20]
- May 2010 [18]
- April 2010 [20]
- March 2010 [23]
- February 2010 [19]
- January 2010 [22]
- December 2009 [22]
- November 2009 [21]
- October 2009 [22]
- September 2009 [21]
- August 2009 [20]
- July 2009 [21]
- June 2009 [22]
- May 2009 [18]
- April 2009 [15]
- March 2009 [7]
- February 2009 [17]
- January 2009 [20]
- December 2008 [23]
- November 2008 [19]
- October 2008 [22]
- September 2008 [22]
- August 2008 [19]
- July 2008 [22]
- June 2008 [11]
- May 2008 [19]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [18]
- January 2008 [20]
- December 2007 [18]
- November 2007 [15]
- October 2007 [19]
- September 2007 [18]
- August 2007 [12]
- July 2007 [12]
- June 2007 [9]
- May 2007 [11]
- April 2007 [10]
- March 2007 [11]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [7]
- December 2006 [4]
- November 2006 [13]
- October 2006 [17]
- September 2006 [11]
- August 2006 [16]
- July 2006 [10]
- June 2006 [3]
